Training Muay Thai in Thailand 2018 (Part 16)

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It’s been a few days since I last checked in. Quite frankly, it’s because I really had nothing to check in about. My foot got worse the more I was on it, and I caught a horrible head and chest cold. I can’t 100% blame the cold on Robert (The head Trainer for the Advanced group), but I can’t dismiss it either. 3 days in a row, he sent us out running in the rain. It wasn’t raining hard, but at least half a dozen trainers in different parts of the complex asked us why we were running in the rain. When I told them Robert told us to, they ALL said, ‘Him crazy…you get sick’. Sure enough…I get sick.

I didn’t just sit on my ass the past few days. I wanted / needed to stay active, so I took Western Boxing in the morning, and had private lessons with Saner in the afternoon.

Western Boxing is a technique class, with a cardio burn at the end. It was good to get a sweat on, and move a little bit without having to kick anything. I trained with Joe, a Japanese kid from Canada. He has really good technique, and is a pretty cool dude. He said he has been here a couple of different times over the past few years, and remembers always seeing me here. He’s a little taller than I am, well built, and is head to toe tats. He has some really awesome traditional Japanese work from head to toe.

Saner is a trainer that I trained with in preparation for my fight. He is not the guy to get you ready for a fight, but he IS an amazing trainer if you want to learn subtle nuances of Muay Thai. I walk away from every session with him having learned a really awesome little trick of the trade. He has probably a dozen English words tin his vocabulary, and two of them are ‘knee’ and ‘elbow’. I have never heard him say ‘kick’ or ‘punch’. He just holds the pad where it needs to be, and says ‘yeeba’. I have no idea what that means, but it works. I also am amazed at how much detail I learn about these nuances I mentioned above, with ZERO verbal communication. Afterward, I always chuckle, and ask myself how we did that. I hope I am learning it correctly, and based upon his ‘AAAAAWWWWW’ of approval, I think I am.

There is another thing about Saner that I am intrigued by. I have mentioned in previous posts that I think some Thai massage ladies are healers. I have found some of them that will find injuries you did not tell them about, and zero in on them during your massage. I have no idea how they found them…they just did. Saner popped my shoulder back into place several times last time I was here. This time, he saw the ace bandage I had on my foot. He took it off, and poked around on my foot. Without me telling him a thing, he found the exact spot that was hurting, and applied pressure to it for about 60 seconds. For about 20 minutes afterward, I was able to move around on my foot as though nothing were wrong with it. He did this with my knee on a previous visit as well. I don’t know where or how he does it…he just does.

This morning I made my return to actual class. It was a triumphant return indeed. I survived Thai pad rounds by not putting any power on my right kicks, and the trainer I had didn’t yell at me for it. When it came to clinching, they sent the GIANTS up into the ring. They paired me with Kansas City, and just as the round was about to begin, Robert told me to go up into the ring with the GIANTS. I’m not sure if he was mad at me for something, or what the deal was, but all of these guys outweigh me by at least 100 lbs.

When I got up into the ring, everyone was just standing around, so I volunteered to go with the biggest GIANT of them all. He respected me for that, and said ‘Let’s have fun.’ WE DID!

After about a minute of sparring (By sparring, I mean, me manhandling him), he said, “BY God Mate, you are by far the strongest mate in this ring. I feel like my head is going to pop off my fooking neck!” I ended up taking him down a couple times, and pretty much did what I wanted to with him. After the round Robert asked me when I was fighting again. Lol. The second round went about the same with another of the GIANTS.

The best part of it was I wasn’t using any strength. I was using the stuff that I had learned in Bangkok. I was using very little energy, while they were burning all of theirs up. I am excited to share some of this with the Monkey Muay Thai group when I get back home.

Away from the gym, I haven’t been doing much. I have been trying to keep my foot iced and elevated, and stayed in bed the entire day aside from training the past few days with this cold.

I’m not sure what has happened with Hahn. Her restaurant was not open the past few days. I spoke with the guys that are trying to help her with it. It doesn’t sound like it is going to work out where she is, but they are trying different things to try to help her. Hopefully she will be able to get the things figured out to make her restaurant work for her and her family.

The Author, Mike Stidham, owns and operates the Ultimate Combat Training Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. UCTC offers classes in Boxing, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, MMA, as well as a wide range of Fitness classes to Men, Women, Children, groups, and private lessons. Find out more at www.UltimateCombat.com

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Mike Stidham is an amazing person, he is motivating, and helpful. I wish he'd open a location down here in Southern Utah since his location in Salt Lake is the best Utah has. I will always recommend his business. Plus it is centrally located so it is easy to get from any part of the Salt Lake Valley.

Kelly S.

So far I’ve only taken kickboxing and boxing and love both! All the instructors are awesome! All classes are for everyone regardless of fitness level. Just come and do your best! Very inviting gym! Love it!